Sunday, July 11, 2010

Street Photography

Since I arrived in Malaysia, I have not done any street photography. I love my dSLR, and it is not as bulky as some other models, but still it is not easy to carry around with you in your purse! Like it or not, I still carry my trusty Fujifilm Finepix point and shoot in my purse all the time.

Yesterday, I took my mother to the ethnic market in town, and it was only as an afterthought that I took out my point and shoot camera.

One thing I noticed, which I never did before because I had never photographed the local vendors, was that not every one liked to be photographed. I tried to minimize anybody's suspicions and distrust by pointing my camera generally and at no one in particular.

However, one lady was upset that I photographed some of the stuff that she was selling. I think what she was most upset about was that she could not charge me for photographing her things though she did say rather loudly to her daughter that if I continued to photograph her things, the daughter should start charging me 10 ringgit for every photo I took!

I think that the law, in Malaysia, regarding street photography in public places is no different than the law in the US. I think that as long as you are in a public place, there cannot be much restrictions on what you can photograph.

Anyway, if somebody is quite adamant about not being photographed, I will try to stay away from such a person! No point getting assaulted over a photograph!